Answer: 4 pennies
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Work Shown:
40 coins total
16 are dimes
40-16 = 24 coins are not dimes
Half of this is 24*(1/2) = 12 which are quarters. The other half (12) are pennies and nickels
n = number of nickels
p = number of pennies
This means n+p = 12 so that we have 12 pennies and nickels combined.
"There are 2 nickels for every penny", so we can write n = 2p. If p = 1, then n = 2. If p = 2, then n = 4, etc. Whatever p is, we double it to get n.
So,
n+p = 12
2p+p = 12
3p = 12
p = 12/3
p = 4, we have 4 pennies
n = 2p
n = 2*4
n = 8 and 8 nickels
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Here are all the coin counts
- 16 dimes
- 12 quarters
- 8 nickels
- 4 pennies
16+12+8+4 = 40 coins total